The invention concerns a 3D (three dimensional) imaging device, as well as a method for manufacturing a 3D imaging device.
The invention also concerns a 3D imaging system that comprises an element capable of forming a volume image of a three-dimensional object and a 3D imaging device according to the invention.
The invention is applicable in many fields, such as, for instance, cinema and television equipment, devices for photography, remote monitoring, telemeasuring, biological and medical imaging, etc.
Several methods are known from the prior art for conducting 3D imaging.
The best known of these methods is stereoscopy. Stereoscopy is based on the use of two identical imaging systems slightly staggered in space, each imaging system delivering an image of the observed scene. The 3D image is then built from the two images delivered by the imaging systems. The drawback of stereoscopy is the need to use two sensors. The two sensors in fact make up a bulky assembly, the respective positions of which are delicate to calibrate.
To offset the drawback of using two sensors, one known method, autostereoscopy, consists of producing a 3D image using a single sensor made up of a matrix of detectors equipped with microlenses, the matrix of detectors equipped with microlenses itself being completely covered by a lens placed in a support. The drawback of such a sensor lies in the delicate assembly of the different elements that make it up.
Another method is based on the use of lens depth of field. The principle of the method consists of varying the position of the image plane of a lens in order to resolve an object to be studied in depth. To that end, one moves the lens and recomposes the different image planes of the object. One drawback of this method is that it is very complex to implement.
The 3D imaging device according to the invention does not have the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.